Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan has apologized to Senate Intelligence Committee leaders after an internal CIA probe found that agency officials improperly snooped into computers being used by Senate staffers.
In a statement Thursday, CIA spokesman Dean Boyd said an Office of Inspector General report concluded that 'some CIA employees acted in a manner inconsistent with the common understanding reached between' the Senate and the CIA about computer systems used to produce documents in connection with a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into CIA detention and interrogation practices.
'Director Brennan was briefed on the CIA OIG's findings,' Boyd said. 'The director subsequently informed the SSCI chairman and vice chairman of the findings and apologized to them for such actions by CIA officers as described in the OIG report.'
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the findings vindicated her assertions earlier this year that the actions constituted an improper intrusion by the executive branch into congressional oversight.
"The investigation confirmed what I said on the Senate floor in March -- CIA personnel inappropriately searched Senate Intelligence Committee computers in violation of an agreement we had reached, and I believe in violation of the constitutional separation of powers,' Feinstein said in a statement. 'Director Brennan apologized for these actions and submitted the IG report to an accountability board. These are positive first steps. This IG report corrects the record and it is my understanding that a declassified report will be made available to the public shortly."
Thursday, July 31, 2014
I'm sorry 4
Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan has apologized to Senate Intelligence Committee leaders after an internal CIA probe found that agency officials improperly snooped into computers being used by Senate staffers.
In a statement Thursday, CIA spokesman Dean Boyd said an Office of Inspector General report concluded that 'some CIA employees acted in a manner inconsistent with the common understanding reached between' the Senate and the CIA about computer systems used to produce documents in connection with a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into CIA detention and interrogation practices.
'Director Brennan was briefed on the CIA OIG's findings,' Boyd said. 'The director subsequently informed the SSCI chairman and vice chairman of the findings and apologized to them for such actions by CIA officers as described in the OIG report.'
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the findings vindicated her assertions earlier this year that the actions constituted an improper intrusion by the executive branch into congressional oversight.
"The investigation confirmed what I said on the Senate floor in March -- CIA personnel inappropriately searched Senate Intelligence Committee computers in violation of an agreement we had reached, and I believe in violation of the constitutional separation of powers,' Feinstein said in a statement. 'Director Brennan apologized for these actions and submitted the IG report to an accountability board. These are positive first steps. This IG report corrects the record and it is my understanding that a declassified report will be made available to the public shortly."
In a statement Thursday, CIA spokesman Dean Boyd said an Office of Inspector General report concluded that 'some CIA employees acted in a manner inconsistent with the common understanding reached between' the Senate and the CIA about computer systems used to produce documents in connection with a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into CIA detention and interrogation practices.
'Director Brennan was briefed on the CIA OIG's findings,' Boyd said. 'The director subsequently informed the SSCI chairman and vice chairman of the findings and apologized to them for such actions by CIA officers as described in the OIG report.'
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the findings vindicated her assertions earlier this year that the actions constituted an improper intrusion by the executive branch into congressional oversight.
"The investigation confirmed what I said on the Senate floor in March -- CIA personnel inappropriately searched Senate Intelligence Committee computers in violation of an agreement we had reached, and I believe in violation of the constitutional separation of powers,' Feinstein said in a statement. 'Director Brennan apologized for these actions and submitted the IG report to an accountability board. These are positive first steps. This IG report corrects the record and it is my understanding that a declassified report will be made available to the public shortly."
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Less than a week before the special election, more than half of Lyndhurst
LYNDHURST, Ohio — Less than a week before the special election, more than half of Lyndhurst residents want to approve a half-percent income tax increase, according to a Shelvie Communications poll.
Lyndhurst would collect $2 million annually if income taxes are increased from 1.5 to 2 percent, in the Aug. 5 election.
Since the city's 50-percent tax credit won't change, both Lyndhurst workers and residents will pay the increase. Those who earn $60,000 annually will pay $300 more to Lyndhurst.
"Fifty-four percent saying they're likely to vote for it is a positive step in the right direction for our community," Councilman Lane Schlessel said. "If someone is still undecided they should reach out to their ward councilman and ask the questions they have.
"Just to vote against it without getting the facts isn't doing the community a service."
Shelvie polled 1,860 of the 14,000 adults in Lyndhurst earlier this month. More than a quarter of residents said they were undecided, and 18 percent disapproved of the tax hike. About three-quarters of the respondents were women.
In an effort to promote the new company, Shelvie Communications has conducted and paid for polls on several local issues throughout the past month.
Lyndhurst planned to pay the Melamed consulting firm $30,000 to communicate with residents about the income tax proposal. Officials held two telephone town halls and a breakfast.
A resident group is leading another campaign to promote the issue.
Schlessel said one of the most common questions he's received has been from senior citizens asking whether the income tax increase will affect their pensions and Social Security, but the tax is on earned income only.
"Residents who aren't engaged just look at the word tax and they confused that with the school levy they just passed," he said. "It has nothing to do with that. It's a totally separate ballot issue.
"The city hasn't put a tax issue on the ballot in decades."
Finance Director Mary Kovalchik predicts the city will spend $2 million of its reserves this year and will not be able to maintain police and fire services come 2015 without the tax increase.
State cuts to the Local Government Fund; the loss of the estate tax, which generated $1.4 million for Lyndhurst last year and is being phased out by the state; and declining property values contributed to the city's financial state, Kovalchik said.
Kovalchik predicts the city will collect $762,000 less in property taxes in 2014 than it did in 2009. Cuts from the state have cost Lyndhurst about $683,000, she said, and she expects the loss of the estate tax to reduce revenues by $500,000.
Get Out & Vote this November
A report last week from the Center for the Study of the American Electorate had troubling news for both parties: turnout in the 25 states that have already held statewide primaries this cycle has declined about 3.5 percent from 2010, down to 14.8 percent of the voting-age population.
The report also says turnout in 15 of the 25 states hit record lows, and that only three had higher turnout this cycle than in 2010.
For Republicans, they were hoping good primary numbers would translate into increased enthusiasm for the party, and possibly signal a growing GOP wave.
Right now, neither appears to be true.
Both Republican and Democratic operatives said they weren’t alarmed by the findings of the report, noting that it’s difficult to extrapolate primary turnout to the general election campaign and that the comparison to 2010 was imperfect.
That year saw a GOP wave and record-high turnout in a number of cases, but Republicans say present-day comparisons don’t work. Many states that had competitive statewide primaries in 2010 didn’t this year, or vice versa, explaining the shift.
Michael McDonald, a political science professor at George Mason University, said that looking at the overall decline in turnout outlined in the report was an imprecise gauge. He noted that the individual parties saw bumps in turnout in states where there were particularly contentious statewide primaries, like North Carolina or Nebraska for Republicans and New Mexico for Democrats.
“Where we do see higher participation in primaries is where we see competitive elections,” he said.
That’s because, McDonald noted, voters need to see “a real reason, a real choice between the candidates offered there” — a reason to get excited about the election.
And that’s where, operatives of both parties acknowledged, the report’s findings may be problematic for 2014.
Mitch Stewart, Obama’s former battleground states director, said the lack of engagement at the primary level seems to be a systemic problem.
“It’s a symptom of our politics today. It’s hard to look at Congress and be super jazzed about voting,” he said.
But even there, the GOP has an advantage. A Pew poll out last week showed 45 percent who said they planned to vote Republican reported being more enthusiastic about voting this year than in years prior, while only 37 percent of those who supported a Democratic candidate said the same.
And GOP operatives note that in other states soon facing a vote, like Tennessee next week, early voting is on the rise — an encouraging sign they see as indicative of Republican enthusiasm this fall. An operative engaged in House races pointed in particular to GOP turnout in the special election in Florida’s 13th District, when more than 40 percent of Republicans went to the polls, as evidence of strong enthusiasm from their party.
The survey also showed that Democrats suffered a higher drop-off from 2010 than Republicans. Democratic turnout went from 8.7 percent of eligible voters in 2010 to 6.1 percent this year. Republican turnout dropped from 9.6 percent in 2010 to 8.2 percent.
McDonald said that’s largely because most of the action has been taking place on the other side, and that Democrats will tune back in once there’s a reason to.
“We haven’t really seen Democrats have a reason to be interested in the election yet, because we’re not close to the fall election and their primaries haven’t been contested,” he said.
Still, Democratic base constituencies become disinterested during the midterms at higher rates than GOP-leaning groups, which is why Democrats have a tougher fight to get their voters out this fall.
The report also says turnout in 15 of the 25 states hit record lows, and that only three had higher turnout this cycle than in 2010.
For Republicans, they were hoping good primary numbers would translate into increased enthusiasm for the party, and possibly signal a growing GOP wave.
Right now, neither appears to be true.
Both Republican and Democratic operatives said they weren’t alarmed by the findings of the report, noting that it’s difficult to extrapolate primary turnout to the general election campaign and that the comparison to 2010 was imperfect.
That year saw a GOP wave and record-high turnout in a number of cases, but Republicans say present-day comparisons don’t work. Many states that had competitive statewide primaries in 2010 didn’t this year, or vice versa, explaining the shift.
Michael McDonald, a political science professor at George Mason University, said that looking at the overall decline in turnout outlined in the report was an imprecise gauge. He noted that the individual parties saw bumps in turnout in states where there were particularly contentious statewide primaries, like North Carolina or Nebraska for Republicans and New Mexico for Democrats.
“Where we do see higher participation in primaries is where we see competitive elections,” he said.
That’s because, McDonald noted, voters need to see “a real reason, a real choice between the candidates offered there” — a reason to get excited about the election.
And that’s where, operatives of both parties acknowledged, the report’s findings may be problematic for 2014.
Mitch Stewart, Obama’s former battleground states director, said the lack of engagement at the primary level seems to be a systemic problem.
“It’s a symptom of our politics today. It’s hard to look at Congress and be super jazzed about voting,” he said.
But even there, the GOP has an advantage. A Pew poll out last week showed 45 percent who said they planned to vote Republican reported being more enthusiastic about voting this year than in years prior, while only 37 percent of those who supported a Democratic candidate said the same.
And GOP operatives note that in other states soon facing a vote, like Tennessee next week, early voting is on the rise — an encouraging sign they see as indicative of Republican enthusiasm this fall. An operative engaged in House races pointed in particular to GOP turnout in the special election in Florida’s 13th District, when more than 40 percent of Republicans went to the polls, as evidence of strong enthusiasm from their party.
The survey also showed that Democrats suffered a higher drop-off from 2010 than Republicans. Democratic turnout went from 8.7 percent of eligible voters in 2010 to 6.1 percent this year. Republican turnout dropped from 9.6 percent in 2010 to 8.2 percent.
McDonald said that’s largely because most of the action has been taking place on the other side, and that Democrats will tune back in once there’s a reason to.
“We haven’t really seen Democrats have a reason to be interested in the election yet, because we’re not close to the fall election and their primaries haven’t been contested,” he said.
Still, Democratic base constituencies become disinterested during the midterms at higher rates than GOP-leaning groups, which is why Democrats have a tougher fight to get their voters out this fall.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
U.S. border!
Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe the undocumented Central American children entering along the U.S.-Mexico border should be treated as refugees, a new poll shows.
According to a poll released Tuesday by the Public Religion Research Institute, 69 percent of those surveyed believe U.S. authorities should treat the children as refugees and allow them to stay in the country if it is determined it is not safe for them to return to their home country. Twenty-seven percent of Americans say the children should be treated as illegal immigrants and should be deported.
Seventy-one percent also say they mostly or completely agree that the U.S. should provide refuge and protection for all people who come to the U.S. if they are fleeing serious danger in their home country, the poll found. But 59 percent of Americans say they mostly or completely agree with the statement that the allowing the children to stay will increase illegal immigration.
According to a poll released Tuesday by the Public Religion Research Institute, 69 percent of those surveyed believe U.S. authorities should treat the children as refugees and allow them to stay in the country if it is determined it is not safe for them to return to their home country. Twenty-seven percent of Americans say the children should be treated as illegal immigrants and should be deported.
Seventy-one percent also say they mostly or completely agree that the U.S. should provide refuge and protection for all people who come to the U.S. if they are fleeing serious danger in their home country, the poll found. But 59 percent of Americans say they mostly or completely agree with the statement that the allowing the children to stay will increase illegal immigration.
DC & Guns
A federal judge Tuesday put on hold the decision he issued over the weekend banning enforcement of a key law Washington, D.C. police and federal law enforcement officials use to control the possession of handguns in the nation's capital.
U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. stayed his earlier ruling for 90-days after the gun rights advocates who filed the case agreed to that length of delay in order to allow the D.C. Council to try to revise the law to comply with the judge's decision. Laywers for the city had asked for a delay of 180 days to allow for an appeal and/or action by the D.C. Council.
Scullin's ruling released on Saturday held one of D.C.'s main gun control laws unconstitutional and ordered that the city not arrest people for possession of guns legally registered in other jurisdictions. The decision caused concern among law enforcement officials who were faced with no clear basis to arrest someone found in the vicinity of most government buildings in possession of a handgun.
Officials said Monday that they had other authority to arrest people entering Congressional office buildings, the Capitol, or its grounds, with weapons, even though police have often used the D.C. law to charge such individuals. Another law bans entering other types of federal buildings with a weapon, but can only be enforced if a conspicuous sign at each building entrance makes the legal ban clear or if the person entering can be proven to know about the law.
Scullin's new order (posted here) puts the prior ruling finding the D.C. gun control law unconstitutional on hold until October 22. In addition, he made clear that his prior order only applied to handguns, so should not stand as a basis for anyone carrying other types of weapons claiming they are doing so legally.
'The Court notes that it sees no need to clarify its decision. The only issue before the Court was whether the District of Columbia's complete ban on the carrying of handguns in public was unconstitutional. Thus, the Court's injunction clearly applied only to handguns and not any other type of deadly dangerous weapon,' Scullin wrote.
U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. stayed his earlier ruling for 90-days after the gun rights advocates who filed the case agreed to that length of delay in order to allow the D.C. Council to try to revise the law to comply with the judge's decision. Laywers for the city had asked for a delay of 180 days to allow for an appeal and/or action by the D.C. Council.
Scullin's ruling released on Saturday held one of D.C.'s main gun control laws unconstitutional and ordered that the city not arrest people for possession of guns legally registered in other jurisdictions. The decision caused concern among law enforcement officials who were faced with no clear basis to arrest someone found in the vicinity of most government buildings in possession of a handgun.
Officials said Monday that they had other authority to arrest people entering Congressional office buildings, the Capitol, or its grounds, with weapons, even though police have often used the D.C. law to charge such individuals. Another law bans entering other types of federal buildings with a weapon, but can only be enforced if a conspicuous sign at each building entrance makes the legal ban clear or if the person entering can be proven to know about the law.
Scullin's new order (posted here) puts the prior ruling finding the D.C. gun control law unconstitutional on hold until October 22. In addition, he made clear that his prior order only applied to handguns, so should not stand as a basis for anyone carrying other types of weapons claiming they are doing so legally.
'The Court notes that it sees no need to clarify its decision. The only issue before the Court was whether the District of Columbia's complete ban on the carrying of handguns in public was unconstitutional. Thus, the Court's injunction clearly applied only to handguns and not any other type of deadly dangerous weapon,' Scullin wrote.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Robert Kilo 46%
Ohio State District 10 Representative Fall Behind in Hypothetical Ballot
Question 1: If the election for State Representative were being held today, and the candidates were Robert Kilo the Independent and Bill Patmon the Democrat, for whom would you vote?
Robert Kilo 46%….. 31% Bill Patmon…… 23% Not sure
Question 2. Do you approve or disapprove of President Barack Obama’s job performance.
47% Approve ….. 41% Disapprove ….. 12% Not sure
Shelvie Polls surveyed 1,518 (10 House District) voters between July 21-24, 2014. 100% of surveys for the poll were conducted over the phone.
NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. For more information email Shelviepolls@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter Shelviepolls.
This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign.
Question 1: If the election for State Representative were being held today, and the candidates were Robert Kilo the Independent and Bill Patmon the Democrat, for whom would you vote?
Robert Kilo 46%….. 31% Bill Patmon…… 23% Not sure
Question 2. Do you approve or disapprove of President Barack Obama’s job performance.
47% Approve ….. 41% Disapprove ….. 12% Not sure
Shelvie Polls surveyed 1,518 (10 House District) voters between July 21-24, 2014. 100% of surveys for the poll were conducted over the phone.
NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. For more information email Shelviepolls@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter Shelviepolls.
This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Federal Judge has ruled!
WASHINGTON -- The District of Columbia's #ban on carrying handguns outside the home is unconstitutional, a federal judge has ruled.
In a 19-page ruling made public Saturday, U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin concluded that the Second Amendment gives people the right to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense.
The lawsuit challenging the city's ban on carrying handguns outside the home was filed in 2009 by three District of Columbia residents, a New Hampshire resident and the Washington state-based Second Amendment Foundation. It came shortly after the city rewrote its gun laws following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the city's 32-year-old ban on handguns in 2008.
New rules allowed residents to keep guns in their homes but required that they be registered. Gun owners now have to take a safety class, be photographed and fingerprinted and re-register their weapons every three years. Those requirements have also been challenged in court but were upheld by a federal judge in May.
In finding the city's ban on carrying handguns outside the home unconstitutional, Scullin cited two U.S. Supreme Court cases, including the 2008 case that struck down the city's handgun ban and a 2010 case involving Chicago's handgun ban.
Scullin, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush and is a former Army colonel, wrote that following those decisions, "there is no longer any basis on which this court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny."
Alan Gura, the lawyer who represents the group challenging the ban, said Sunday he was "very pleased with the decision."
Ted Gest, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, which defended the city's ban, said the city is studying the opinion and its options. Those include appealing the judge's ruling but also asking the judge to stop his ruling from going into effect
In a 19-page ruling made public Saturday, U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin concluded that the Second Amendment gives people the right to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense.
The lawsuit challenging the city's ban on carrying handguns outside the home was filed in 2009 by three District of Columbia residents, a New Hampshire resident and the Washington state-based Second Amendment Foundation. It came shortly after the city rewrote its gun laws following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the city's 32-year-old ban on handguns in 2008.
New rules allowed residents to keep guns in their homes but required that they be registered. Gun owners now have to take a safety class, be photographed and fingerprinted and re-register their weapons every three years. Those requirements have also been challenged in court but were upheld by a federal judge in May.
In finding the city's ban on carrying handguns outside the home unconstitutional, Scullin cited two U.S. Supreme Court cases, including the 2008 case that struck down the city's handgun ban and a 2010 case involving Chicago's handgun ban.
Scullin, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush and is a former Army colonel, wrote that following those decisions, "there is no longer any basis on which this court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny."
Alan Gura, the lawyer who represents the group challenging the ban, said Sunday he was "very pleased with the decision."
Ted Gest, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, which defended the city's ban, said the city is studying the opinion and its options. Those include appealing the judge's ruling but also asking the judge to stop his ruling from going into effect
Friday, July 25, 2014
More Cops
51% Say There Aren't Enough Cops in America
Most Americans continue to believe crime is a serious problem in America, and half think there aren’t enough police officers to stop it.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of American Adults say crime in their community has increased over the past year, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 11% say the level of crime where they live has gone down, while 47% say it has stayed about the same.
Most Americans continue to believe crime is a serious problem in America, and half think there aren’t enough police officers to stop it.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of American Adults say crime in their community has increased over the past year, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 11% say the level of crime where they live has gone down, while 47% say it has stayed about the same.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Women problems in NFL
The #NFL sent a message with its latest disciplinary move, suspending Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice because of a domestic incident that it deems to be a violation of its personal conduct policy. Unfortunately, the recipients of Commissioner Roger Goodell’s message are women.
Rice was suspended the first two games of the season after a February incident in which he allegedly knocked his then-fiancée unconscious in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino. The incident was captured on disturbing video and Rice entered a not-guilty plea to a third-degree charge of aggravated assault. He avoided trial by being accepted into a pretrial intervention program in May. The following month, he met with Goodell, who can use the league’s personal-conduct policy to suspend players even if they are not charged or convicted of a crime.
The suspension sparked an instant and heated debate over how the league dishes out punishment, given that drug violations typically draw longer suspensions. It particularly resonated poorly with women, sending the wrong message just as NFL viewership among them is at a high and when the league is, once again, openly courting the audience of women and their financial clout. At a time when some women employed as cheerleaders are suing teams in several cities over low wages, the suspension especially strikes another oddly off-key note for a league that has always been better at PR than this.
In fact, the NFL would do well to remember that women haven’t always flocked to its games. There was a time when the league had to do damage control, especially after Rae Carruth of the Carolina Panthers was sent to prison for his role in the shooting death of his then-pregnant girlfriend in 1999. The league embarked on an image makeover, doing things like having players hand out roses to women at breast cancer walks. Now, in addition to clothing specifically designed for and marketed to women (yes, there’s a Ray Rice women’s jersey), there’s a league-wide initiative to raise breast cancer awareness every October. Yet recent incidents involving Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy, Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington and Rice are troubling.
Rice was suspended the first two games of the season after a February incident in which he allegedly knocked his then-fiancée unconscious in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino. The incident was captured on disturbing video and Rice entered a not-guilty plea to a third-degree charge of aggravated assault. He avoided trial by being accepted into a pretrial intervention program in May. The following month, he met with Goodell, who can use the league’s personal-conduct policy to suspend players even if they are not charged or convicted of a crime.
The suspension sparked an instant and heated debate over how the league dishes out punishment, given that drug violations typically draw longer suspensions. It particularly resonated poorly with women, sending the wrong message just as NFL viewership among them is at a high and when the league is, once again, openly courting the audience of women and their financial clout. At a time when some women employed as cheerleaders are suing teams in several cities over low wages, the suspension especially strikes another oddly off-key note for a league that has always been better at PR than this.
In fact, the NFL would do well to remember that women haven’t always flocked to its games. There was a time when the league had to do damage control, especially after Rae Carruth of the Carolina Panthers was sent to prison for his role in the shooting death of his then-pregnant girlfriend in 1999. The league embarked on an image makeover, doing things like having players hand out roses to women at breast cancer walks. Now, in addition to clothing specifically designed for and marketed to women (yes, there’s a Ray Rice women’s jersey), there’s a league-wide initiative to raise breast cancer awareness every October. Yet recent incidents involving Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy, Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington and Rice are troubling.
Hit list
#Teachers unions are struggling to protect their political clout, but as the midterm elections approach, they're fighting back with their most popular asset: the teachers themselves.
Backed by tens of millions in cash and new data mining tools that let them personalize pitches to voters, the unions are sending armies of educators to run a huge get-out-the-vote effort aimed at reversing the red tide that swept Republicans into power across the country in 2010.
The unions have plenty of money: They spent $69 million on state races in 2010 and are likely to top that this year. But as they gear up for the most intense and focused mobilization efforts they have ever attempted, they believe it's their members who will give them an edge. Americans may be frustrated with public schools and wary of unions, but polls still show respect and admiration for teachers.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Backed by tens of millions in cash and new data mining tools that let them personalize pitches to voters, the unions are sending armies of educators to run a huge get-out-the-vote effort aimed at reversing the red tide that swept Republicans into power across the country in 2010.
The unions have plenty of money: They spent $69 million on state races in 2010 and are likely to top that this year. But as they gear up for the most intense and focused mobilization efforts they have ever attempted, they believe it's their members who will give them an edge. Americans may be frustrated with public schools and wary of unions, but polls still show respect and admiration for teachers.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
It's over
Businessman #David Perdue (R) has won his hard-fought Senate primary, setting up a general-election battle against charity executive Michelle Nunn (D).
The Associated Press has called the race for Perdue, who led Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) by 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent with 93 of precincts reporting.
Perdue pulled off his narrow win by running hard as the outsider, positioning himself from the beginning of the primary as the only non-politician in the race.
He stuck with that message throughout the primary runoff, hammering Kingston as a career politician and criticizing him for the more than two decades he's been in Congress.
Kingston responded by painting Perdue as wealthy and out-of-touch, ripping into his business record. Those attacks will likely be reprised by Democrats this fall.
Perdue, a self-funding candidate and the former CEO of Dollar General and Reebok, took first place in the crowded multi-candidate May primary, leading Kingston by double digits. But Kingston came out fighting, winning the endorsements of many of his congressional colleagues as well as some Tea Party activists.
"Congratulations to David Perdue on his victory tonight in Georgia," National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said in a statement. "David's experience in the private sector will be put to good use in Washington, and his firsthand experience in creating thousands of good paying jobs will help Georgians."
The Associated Press has called the race for Perdue, who led Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) by 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent with 93 of precincts reporting.
Perdue pulled off his narrow win by running hard as the outsider, positioning himself from the beginning of the primary as the only non-politician in the race.
He stuck with that message throughout the primary runoff, hammering Kingston as a career politician and criticizing him for the more than two decades he's been in Congress.
Kingston responded by painting Perdue as wealthy and out-of-touch, ripping into his business record. Those attacks will likely be reprised by Democrats this fall.
Perdue, a self-funding candidate and the former CEO of Dollar General and Reebok, took first place in the crowded multi-candidate May primary, leading Kingston by double digits. But Kingston came out fighting, winning the endorsements of many of his congressional colleagues as well as some Tea Party activists.
"Congratulations to David Perdue on his victory tonight in Georgia," National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said in a statement. "David's experience in the private sector will be put to good use in Washington, and his firsthand experience in creating thousands of good paying jobs will help Georgians."
Low turn out!
WASHINGTON -- More than half the states to hold primary elections so far have seen record-low turnouts, according to a nonpartisan survey of voter rolls released Monday. That perhaps is a sign of widespread apathy within both political parties ahead of November's midterm elections.
Of almost 123 million voters who were eligible to cast ballots in primaries, 18 million have done so, and states with same-day voter registration actually saw their turnout rates drop, according to the Center for the Study of the American Electorate. Despite heavy campaign spending that is poised to make history, 15 of the 25 states that have held statewide primary elections each reported a record low percentage of voters who cast ballots.
The low turnout comes amid high stakes. Republicans are driving for the six-seat gain required to control the Senate.
Nonetheless, Democrats saw a 29 percent decline from 2010's primaries, the 11th consecutive midterm elections to see a drop in participation.
Republicans posted a 15 percent decline in participation from 2010. But their rate was closer to historical norms after tea party enthusiasm in 2010 led to a turnout spike.
Of almost 123 million voters who were eligible to cast ballots in primaries, 18 million have done so, and states with same-day voter registration actually saw their turnout rates drop, according to the Center for the Study of the American Electorate. Despite heavy campaign spending that is poised to make history, 15 of the 25 states that have held statewide primary elections each reported a record low percentage of voters who cast ballots.
The low turnout comes amid high stakes. Republicans are driving for the six-seat gain required to control the Senate.
Nonetheless, Democrats saw a 29 percent decline from 2010's primaries, the 11th consecutive midterm elections to see a drop in participation.
Republicans posted a 15 percent decline in participation from 2010. But their rate was closer to historical norms after tea party enthusiasm in 2010 led to a turnout spike.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Taxation w/o Representation
President Obama said Monday that as a Washington, D.C., resident he supported statehood for the District of Columbia’s 650,000 inhabitants.
"I'm in D.C., so I'm for it," Obama said Monday at a town-hall event to promote his "My Brother's Keeper" program.
"I've long believed that folks in D.C. pay taxes like everybody else. They contribute to the overall well-being of the country like everybody else. They should be represented like everybody else," Obama said
"I'm in D.C., so I'm for it," Obama said Monday at a town-hall event to promote his "My Brother's Keeper" program.
"I've long believed that folks in D.C. pay taxes like everybody else. They contribute to the overall well-being of the country like everybody else. They should be represented like everybody else," Obama said
Friday, July 18, 2014
Malaysia
The United States on Friday said it believed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was taken down by a surface-to-air missile from territory controlled by Russian militants battling the Ukrainian government.
President Obama described the incident as a "global wakeup call," suggesting the U.S. is ready to press its partners to put more pressure on Russia to rein in militants operating in Eastern Ukraine.
“This certainly will be a wake up call for Europe and the world that there are consequences to escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine and it is not going to be localized. It is not going to be contained,” Obama said.
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President Obama described the incident as a "global wakeup call," suggesting the U.S. is ready to press its partners to put more pressure on Russia to rein in militants operating in Eastern Ukraine.
“This certainly will be a wake up call for Europe and the world that there are consequences to escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine and it is not going to be localized. It is not going to be contained,” Obama said.
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Proposed tax Aug 5 2014
The small Cuyahoga County suburb of Lyndhurst, OH, needs additional revenue to support city services. A proposed .5 percent income tax hike is headed to the polls on August 5,2014. Just released July 18 2014 54% likely voters approve of the increase 18% disapprove with 27% are still undecided according to Shelvie Polls conduct July 6 to 8,2014.
Lyndhurst is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, an eastern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 14,001 at the 2010 census.
Method
Shelvie Poll conducted poll July 6 to 8, 2014. Sample size is 1,860 adults in Lyndhurst,Ohio with a margin of error ± 4 of likely voters. 100% of surveys for the poll were conducted over the phone.
Gender
71% Female 29% Male
Party Status
30% Democrats 30% Republicans 40% Independents
NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
For more information email Shelviepolls@gmail.com
or follow us on Twitter Shelviepolls
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Negro Vote
Chris McDaniel's unsuccessful Mississippi Senate campaign is now accusing allies of renominated Sen. Thad Cochran of "race-baiting" in their efforts to boost the six-term incumbent in last month's GOP runoff, amid reports that the politically-powerful Barbour family helped direct about $145,000 to African-American turnout operations to help Cochran.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
$100,000 a speech
Jay Carney just left the White House podium and he's already joined the ranks of George W. Bush, Tom Brokaw and Mike Ditka in one profitable enterprise: lecturing on the private speaking circuit.
The former Obama administration flack signed on this month with the Washington Speakers Bureau, a gig that came with a signing bonus and is likely to yield payments as high as $100,000 per speech to share his personal presidential anecdotes and analysis of the next two election cycles.
As the most recent high-profile person out the West Wing door, Carney can expect to be in high demand with the universities, corporations and trade associations -- the public and private institutions willing to pay for what has become the standard first move of high-ranking staffers.
The former Obama administration flack signed on this month with the Washington Speakers Bureau, a gig that came with a signing bonus and is likely to yield payments as high as $100,000 per speech to share his personal presidential anecdotes and analysis of the next two election cycles.
As the most recent high-profile person out the West Wing door, Carney can expect to be in high demand with the universities, corporations and trade associations -- the public and private institutions willing to pay for what has become the standard first move of high-ranking staffers.
No thanks ! 80billion dollars not enough!
Rupert Murdoch's company 21st Century Fox unsuccessfully bid $80 #billion for Time Warner last month, the company said in a statement confirming a New York Times report on Wednesday.
"21st Century Fox can confirm that we made a formal proposal to Time Warner last month to combine the two companies,' the statement said. 'The Time Warner Board of Directors declined to pursue our proposal. We are not currently in any discussions with Time Warner.'
The speculation into a possible acquisition attempt started on July 1 after Reuters published a curtain-raiser on the Allen & Co. gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho, one of the many summer summits attended by high-profile media, tech and finance executives.
21st Century Fox first approached Time Warner in early June, according to the Times. But Time Warner, parent company of the Warner Bros. empire, Turner Broadcasting and HBO, wasn't having it.
'Time Warner's board discussed the proposal at length, the people briefed said, and early this month it sent a terse letter rejecting the offer, saying the company was better off remaining independent,' the Times reports.
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"21st Century Fox can confirm that we made a formal proposal to Time Warner last month to combine the two companies,' the statement said. 'The Time Warner Board of Directors declined to pursue our proposal. We are not currently in any discussions with Time Warner.'
The speculation into a possible acquisition attempt started on July 1 after Reuters published a curtain-raiser on the Allen & Co. gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho, one of the many summer summits attended by high-profile media, tech and finance executives.
21st Century Fox first approached Time Warner in early June, according to the Times. But Time Warner, parent company of the Warner Bros. empire, Turner Broadcasting and HBO, wasn't having it.
'Time Warner's board discussed the proposal at length, the people briefed said, and early this month it sent a terse letter rejecting the offer, saying the company was better off remaining independent,' the Times reports.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
School Choice
Why would the federal Department of Justice cite the Civil Rights Act and the specter of segregation to try and block a school choice program where more than nine in 10 participants come from racial minority groups? Or use the Americans with Disabilities Act to claim another school voucher program discriminates against individuals with disabilities, without so much as a single complaint from a student or parent to prove their case?
Yet that's exactly what the Obama administration's Justice Department is doing--taking actions designed to stifle, and even block outright, programs that give children and parents more educational choices. Ironically enough, the DOJ even cited civil rights laws in attempting to deny parents the opportunity to move their children from failing schools--one of the foremost civil rights challenges of our time.
Legal arguments aside, the basic problem is this: Eric Holder, the Obama administration, and vast swathes of the left have forgotten the basic premise of education policy: It's all about the children.
Yet that's exactly what the Obama administration's Justice Department is doing--taking actions designed to stifle, and even block outright, programs that give children and parents more educational choices. Ironically enough, the DOJ even cited civil rights laws in attempting to deny parents the opportunity to move their children from failing schools--one of the foremost civil rights challenges of our time.
Legal arguments aside, the basic problem is this: Eric Holder, the Obama administration, and vast swathes of the left have forgotten the basic premise of education policy: It's all about the children.
Monday, July 7, 2014
Residents have weighed in on the way Miesha Headen is handling her job as Mayor:
"Do you approve or disapprove of the way Miesha Headen is handling her job as Richmond Heights Mayor?" According to a survey released July 8, 2014.
Residents have weighed in on the way Miesha Headen is handling her job as Mayor: Approve 42%, Disapprove 51% and Undecided 7% (Shelvie Polls tracking, 6/24-27).
Richmond Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 10,546 at the 2010 census.
Method
Shelvie Poll conducted June 24- 27,2014. Sample size is 1,870 adults in Richmond Heights, Ohio with a margin of error ± 3.5% of likely voters. 100% of surveys for the poll were conducted over the phone.
For more information email Shelviepolls@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ShelviePolls.
Aug 5 2014 Special Election
Aug 5 2014 Special Election
Will Lyndhurst local income tax measure pass August 5?
Do Clevelanders approve of Red Light cameras?
Do Clevelanders approve of Red Light cameras?
Shelvie Communications Poll: Do Clevelanders approve of Red Light cameras?
According to a new Shelvie Communications Poll Clevelanders are not on board with red light cameras.
Sixty-two percent (62%) of Clevelanders Strongly Disapprove of red light cameras while 27% are undecided and only 11% approve of the devices.
The poll was conducted on June 1st with 15,1746 likely voters. They were interviewed by landline and cell phone, with a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points, the pollsters said.
Richmond Heights likely voters are divided over first term Mayor Miesha Headen
According to a survey released July 7 2014
Richmond Heights likely voters are divided over first term Mayor Miesha Headen. In a recent Shelvie Poll conducted June 24-27, 2014 45% support a recall, 45% don’t support a recall and 10% are undecided.
Method
Shelvie Poll conducted June 24- 27,2014. Sample size was 1,737 adults in Richmond Heights, Ohio with a margin of error ± 4%
LV = likely voters. 100% of surveys were conducted over the phone.
For more information email Shelviepolls@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ShelviePolls.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
A new poll shows East Cleveland voters are leading toward a merger with the City of Cleveland.
A new poll shows East Cleveland voters are leading toward a merger with the City of Cleveland.
Poll conducted by Shelvie Polls June 26-29, 2014. N=500 East Clevelanders voters with margin of error +/- 3.8%.
A new poll shows East Cleveland voters are leading toward a merger with the City of Cleveland.
The majority of East Cleveland’s voters are leaning toward a possible East Cleveland
Breaking down that division of support, 55 percent said they feel strongly and that they would vote for a merger while 29 percent replied that they would not. 16 percent of voters said they are undecided.
East Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and was the first suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 17,843 for the 2010 census.
-Method
Shelvie Polls surveyed 500 East Cleveland likely registered voters from June 26th to 29th. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 3.8%. 100% of surveys for the poll were conducted over the phone.
For more information email Shelviepolls@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @ShelviePolls.
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